7. Desire.
T: Consider this a little Christmas present to all you loyal readers, thank you for your patience while the festive season slows me down! On a cheery note I've finally reached the end of this thing and I can comfort you by saying that there are only three more chapters to go!
This chapter still features a little of the goriness of the last so beware…also there is a CONVENIANT PLOT DEVISE warning tagged to this chapter...you'll know it when you see it!
Kuraitsubasa: Yep, Sei-chan's eye is most certainly gone this time! The wish thing will be explained in the last chapter and Sei-chan's feelings will remain relatively undisclosed until that point as well! Don't apologise for the questions, they let me know that you're actually reading and that I've done my job of drawing you in!
Comixoriole: Happy to see I've tempted you to read again! Happy Christmas to you and thanks for the compliments!
Still not mine, though at the moment I really wish it was, if only so I could draw more chapters for all the fans!
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He had felt Subaru's Kekkai being raised and, after a little organisation from Soratta, he and Arashi had made their way towards the Rainbow Bridge.
They had travelled as far as the edges of the Campus when the Kekkai had been again lowered.
As a wild panic grabs hold of his heart he leaps with a strength and a speed that he had never before achieved, in the direction of the fading energy.
He manages two of these longer bounds before Arashi stops him by placing a hand to his shoulder and then points to the horizon.
A figure is making its way towards them, its thin frame clothed in a familiar white coat.
Breathing a tiny sigh of relief Kamui allows his fear free before he leaps into the path of his companion.
"Subaru, I had begun to fear the worst…"
There is a trail of blood splattered on the pail fabric of Subaru's coat and there is such a distanced look in the others eyes that it scares Kamui a little.
"Subaru?"
The other registers the sound of his name and looks a moment to Kamui before he falls, shaking, to his knees.
Kamui crosses the remaining distance between them and pulls Subaru into a hug.
"He will not stop shaking." He remarks after a moment.
The girl leans down and presses a hand to the Onmyoji's forehead.
"He seems to have gone into shock…we need to get him somewhere warm…" She remarks as she lifts Subaru up into the crook of her arm.
"Wait a moment…there is something clutched in his right hand…" He bends down in order to better reach the hand in question and the smell of blood comes strong to his nose.
He gently separates the fingers and looks a moment at the object within Subaru's grasp before he forces himself to look away.
"What is it?" Arashi enquires after a moments silence.
"An eye."
"Oh…" She shivers, just barely, and then gripping hard to Subaru's form she enquires,
"Let's go, shall we?"
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He is not particularly surprised to see 'Kamui' cross into his hospital room but instants after the doctors had at last let him be.
"I take it that you were watching the events in the Rainbow Bridge."
"Indirectly, yes…How is your eye?"
He raises a hand to the bandaging and responds,
"It is blind truly and yet I can not bring myself to care. It is, after all, my own fault for pushing him too hard."
"It amused you though, did it not, to learn that your fragile porcelain doll actually had a back bone?"
"It makes things…intriguing…certainly."
"I would ask you what you plan to do now and yet I do not think you shall give me a clear answer."
"I do not think I shall do anything for a while. I can not find it in me to care about the world or those within it and yet I do not wish to waste the effort in destroying everything."
'Kamui' chuckles a little under his breath and shaking his head he remarks,
"It is sad that this has all come about because of that boy and yet I doubt you see the connection.
You have, after all, blinded yourself to everything that might interfere with the reality that you have formed for yourself."
"The reality I have formed for myself?"
"Something that I have been thinking on recently Sakurazuka-san, do not concern yourself over it." 'Kamui' remarks before he smiles pleasantly and says, "I do not believe that we shall see one another for a while, so I will bid you farewell, and advise you to think carefully on the want within your heart."
A moment later 'Kamui' is gone and he is left alone to ponder, again, on the others enigmatic words.
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"Thank you again for doing this, Imonoyama-san."
"And again I must say that this was nothing, Kamui-kun, Sumeragi-san is, after all, one of our own."
The boy smiles and turns back to face Subaru,
"He still will not respond to anything but his name."
"Whatever happened on the Bridge seems to have affected him quite severely."
"But we can not help him if he does not talk to us…"
"True enough." Nokoru shuffles a little on his feet and after a moment remarks, "I wished a moment to talk to you about the item that Sumeragi-san brought back with him."
"The eye, you mean?"
"Yes. After extensive tests it seems that it will prove an adequate replacement for the one that Sumeragi-san lost on Sunshine 60.
"In fact, it is an almost perfect match for that last appendage."
"Is that normal?"
"No and yet I had suspected something of this sort when you told me that you believed the eye part of the Sakurazukamori."
"Forgive me, Imonoyama-san, but I am afraid that you have lost me…why does the compatibility prove the eye was from the Sakurazukamori?"
"Because the Sakurazukamori is a balancing force for the Sumeragi…they exist in a perfect tandem, each counter balancing the actions of the other.
"Thus when this eye proved such a close match it could only be taken from the Sakurazukamori."
"And there is no margin for doubt?"
"None."
Kamui slumps a little into himself then and reaching for Subaru's hand he remarks,
"Then it makes Subaru's current situation a little clearer."
There is silence a moment and then Nokoru enquires,
"Would you come and see something with me, Kamui?"
"Of course." He looks to Subaru and informs the other. "I'm just going with Imonoyama-san for a moment."
Nokoru leads him through the mansion and into a little box room that Kamui had not previously realised was there.
A television sits at the far end of the room; the space about it filled will video tapes.
"The Campus records short interviews with all of its students, once when they are 16 and once when they are 18.
"It is a social experiment designed to show the directors the progress of their students over such a crucial time in their lives and is aimed at helping them get the best out of each of their students." He clicks on the monitor and pulls out a video cassette from the stack.
"Sumeragi-san was, from the beginning, a very special case and it took a great while to get permission to film him and yet the results are both very telling and hearting to say the least."
Nokoru clicks the play button on the video player and then steps back to allow Kamui to see the screen clearly.
An image of a pale, nervous boy appears on the screen and if it were not for the luminous green of his eyes he would believe that Nokoru had accidentally placed in the wrong tape.
'My name is Sumeragi Subaru…I'm 16 and I have a twin sister on Campus.'
A question is posed off of camera and the younger Subaru looks a little uncertain before he replies,
'I am the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi family and so I do not get to spend as much time on myself as I would like…I think, if I had the chance, I would become a zoo keeper.'
Another question and the Sumeragi again takes a moment to find his answer.
'In two years? Hopefully Obaachan will allow me to continue to come here and perhaps by then I might have found a way to balance out my work and school.'
There is a final question and the younger Subaru blushes before replying,
'I do not have anyone at the moment…nor am I really looking…my life is a little, hectic, at the moment, after all.'
There is a moment of static and then a more familiar Subaru appears on screen.
'Hello again.' The man remarks a soft, confident, smile gracing his lips a moment before he remarks,
'Quite a lot has happened in two years…I am still the thirteenth head of the clan but things seem to have settled enough that I have more time to myself.
'I have decided to become a zoo keeper and I have gotten to know a few of the students here on Campus.'
The interviewer poses a question and Subaru's smile deepens into something beautiful.
'Yes I have found someone since we last talked…his name is Sakurazuka Seishiro and he is just a little older than I am…
'He makes me feel loved and confident to be who I am.'
Another question and Subaru chuckles a little before replying,
'Where do I see my future? To be honest I could do anything and be happy as long as he stays with me.'
The static kicks in again and Kamui turns to face Nokoru, an enquiry clear in his eyes,
"You are wondering why I showed you this. The answer is that I needed you to see how much of a positive effect Sakurazuka-san has had on Sumeragi-san…how much of Sumeragi-san has been defined by the other."
"This I already knew, Imonoyama-san."
"True enough and yet I am not sure that you have allowed yourself to comprehend it truly.
"You have fallen in love with Sumeragi-san, after all and that love has blinded you a little."
Kamui feels his skin flush and Nokoru smiles one of his soft, open, smiles and grasping Kamui's shoulder he informs the boy.
"Sumeragi-san loves Sakurazuka-san enough that he has, for years, closed his eyes to the others true identity.
"Even now, after everything that has happened, I believe that he loves him still. Believe that that love has made him blind enough to believe he might be able still to get Sakurazuka-san back."
"But he is Sakurazukamori."
"Perhaps and yet to Sumeragi-san, Sakurazuka-san and the Sakurazukamori are two very separate individuals."
Kamui allows himself a moment to consider this information before he remarks,
"If Subaru truly wishes to have Sakurazuka-san at his side again then I shall support him. However, it may prove otherwise…time might bring Subaru to forget Sakurazuka-san and in forgetting him Subaru may find himself attracted to me."
"Such an attachment will only ever prove a false thing, Kamui-kun, something born through Sumeragi-san's wish to keep you content. Would you still invite him care knowing it to be as such?"
"If it meant that he stayed at my side for the rest of my days then yes, even knowing that, I would welcome his affection."
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T: Snigger the plot deepens…I loved the irony of Nokoru being the voice of reason and so this little bit between he and Kamui stayed…also, for those inclined, there can be a little more read into N's words of wisdom…perhaps that he too had allowed love to blind him for a while…
Will Kamui get Subaru? Will Sei-chan get a clue? Will there be more complex authoress logic? Tune in next time to see! Until then R+R and I'll attempt to answer your enquires.